The Black Zephyr
by Blu Wolf 23
Summary: It's been a year since Ralph's game jumping spree nearly led to the destruction of two games. Now new questions are arising after a boy named Jay shows up on the eve of Felix and Calhoun's anniversary. Where is the real King Candy? Who taught Turbo how to manipulate the code of a game, and how is one villain putting arcades across the nation out of business by destroying games?
1. Karaoke Night

Chapter 1

Karaoke Night

Ralph took a swing at The Code Master, but his opponent dodged the attack and retaliated. Slashing at our favorite bad guy with his clawed hand. Ralph was sent staggering backwards.

Although he hated to admit it, his foe looked menacing. He was dressed in sleek black armor with lines of red number codes running up his chest, back, across his V-shaped visor and up sides of his legs and arms. His right hand was red, and tiny bits of code were floating up off of it. His fingers were long and blade like, unlike the fingers on his left hand.

"We will not let you destroy this arcade." Ralph snarled.

"The Zephyr is priming itself, in minutes it will fire and sent out an energy pulse that will destroy everything you know. No one will be safe from the pulse. Since you do not have the strength to stop me, this arcade is already doomed." The Code Master sneered.

"Oh I've got the strength alright." Ralph snarled, charging his foe and throwing a left hook.

The Code Master dodged the strike once again. This time he kicked out Ralph's knee, causing him to collapse. Ralph tried to stand, but his adversary shoved him to the ground. He then allowed a black mist to form around his clawed hand before reaching into Ralph's chest and pulling out a string of code.

Ralph felt nauseous but managed to get to his feet, but when he tried to throw a punch he was too weak to even lift his arms. He simply fell over again.

His foe laughed before putting his boot on his chest and leaning down to get right up in his face.

"I beg to differ." The Code Master hissed, wrapping the bit of code around a clawed finger

...

_A few days earlier_

A single aircraft was coming down the cable that connected game central station to a single power outlet in Litwak's wall. The aircraft was moving at a normal speed down the power cord. However it was a rather strange occurrence to the Surge Protectors who guarded Game Central Station. It was incredibly rare for anything to land at the small airstrip they had just outside the station. The last aircraft that landed here was a large transport jet that had been carrying Sgt. Calhoun and her troops. A day later their game was plugged in and the aircraft left. The Surge Protectors had been expecting them, unlike this occurrence.

The aircraft was rather small. It had swept wings, a bubble canopy; it had a large propeller mounted on the nose and two smaller ones built into each wing. These ones however were not spinning, unlike the main propeller. The plane had a long sleek blue fuselage (main body) and was armed to the teeth. Two missiles were mounted on the underside of the aircraft, 6 plasma canons made up the main armament. Three cannons on each wing.

"Unidentified aircraft, state your intentions." A Surge Protector ordered, speaking into his radio.

"Aloha, I mean no harm fellas. Just wanted to stop and stretch my legs!" The pilot replied after a minute of silence.

"Um roger, you're clear to land. Welcome to Litwak's." The Surge Protector replied, giving his colleague a confused look.

The pilot was a character named Jay. He had jet black hair and electric blue eyes. He wore a pair of boots black boots along with his silver flight armor. The suit was composed of a series of light weight interlocking armor plates. In its default form, the armor plates were spaced apart by a few inches. Revealing the white synthetic underclothes that Jay wore under his armor. In this configuration, he could walk, run, jump and do most other things with ease. Except go to the bathroom, that was always difficult. However, should the situation require, Jay could put his armor into battle mode. The armor plates would come together and lock up, leaving no gaps. This would mean a little less mobility but more survivability. Jay had taken the liberty of personalizing his armor, painting on blue stripes that went up the arms and legs of his armor. His chest plate was also blue.

Jay watched the various gauges that told him how the aircraft was doing. All the while he was going through his landing checklist.

"Flaps...check." He murmured, reaching over to a lever and pulling it down.

After a brief minute he continued down the list.

"Gear...check."

He then nodded with satisfaction and turned his attention to the airfield.

The runway looked a little short. It was a giant slab of concrete suspended in mid air in the midst of black emptiness. The runway had green lights running up its center. He zeroed in on that. Since there was no other real light to focus on. He flipped some switches and watched as the two propellers mounted on his wings began to spin. He then reduced power to the main engine and reverted it to the two other engines. In a matter of seconds he had gone from landing like a plane to landing like a helicopter. He gradually reduced power, allowing for a slow steady descent. After another minute he felt a slight bump as his wheels made contact with tarmac. He quickly powered off the wing engines and diverted power back to the main engine, which had been idling. He looked to his left to see single parking space materialize. Two Surge Protectors were waiting for him to park. He quickly taxied off the runway, parked and powered his aircraft down.

When the prop stop spinning, he opened the canopy and jumped from his plane onto the tarmac.

"Hey guys." He said.

"Hello." One Surge Protector replied.

"We're just going to run through a quick security check before letting you into Game Central Station." The other explained.

"Ok, go right ahead. I've got nothin to hide." The boy told them, walking up to the side aircraft and opening a hatch that contained his black backpack. One of the Surge Protectors picked up the bag and began rummaging through it. There wasn't much inside. A screenshot album, a camera with a neck strap, a couple of comic books, some Mario coins, a ukulele, a baseball cap, and basic toiletries.

The Surge Protector handed the boy his backpack, giving his partner a thumbs up.

"Do you have anything to declare?" The other Surge Protector asked.

"Well what would I have to declare, I know the rules are different at every arcade." Jay asked.

"Mushroom, power pellets, turtles shells, Pac Man fruit, and weapons or any type of offensive gadgets." The guard replied.

"Oh I have a couple of those." The boy said with a chuckle.

"Which one?" The second Surge Protector asked.

"The last one." Jay replied.

"Show us." The guard asked.

Jay proceed to take his collapsible Tri-shot crossbow off his back and allowed it to go from storage mode, a simple diamond shape device that was attached to the middle of his back, to its full size weapon mode. He then drew his short sword, with its curved green blade, from its sheath that hung from his side and handed it to one of the guards. He then told them about the gauntlet on his left hand and how it could shoot bolts of electricity. They agreed to let him keep it since it was built into his armor, but made him promise to refrain from using it unless it was for self defense. He agreed with an enthusiastic nod.

He began to tell them about his air boots but they told him not to worry about it. They knew how they worked and knew that it wouldn't be an issue. Finally they asked him the basic security questions.

"Hero or Villain?"

"Sidekick, hero."

"Name and age?"

"Jay, 12."

"Game of origin?"

"Storm Tide."

"Game of Destination."

"Undecided at the time of arrival."

At long last they allowed him to go into Game Central Station. They told him they would hang on to his crossbow and sword and that he could retrieve them when he was leaving.

They gave him his backpack and had a walkway materialized so that they could get into Game Central station.

Jay thanked them and went off into the station, eagerly wondering who he would meet.

...

Game Central Station made his jaw drop. The scared had just closed so characters were just beginning to leave their games and hang out with their friends for the evening. Jay found a bench and sat down. He opened up his back pack, and took out his camera, his Star Fox hat and his ukulele. He put his camera around his neck, his hat on his head and readied his instrument.

When people started to take notice, he began to play.

_I hope this old train breaks down_

_Then I could take a walk around_

_And, see what there is to see_

_And time is just a melody_

_All the people in the street_

_Walk as fast as their feet can take them_

_I just roll through town_

_And though my windows got a view_

_The frame I'm looking through_

_Seems to have no concern for now_

_So for now_

He was beginning to draw a crowd, a few people were apparently in too much of a hurry to stop and listen. They did drop a coin or two into his backpack as they passed by.

_I need this_

_Old train to breakdown_

_Oh please just_

_Let me please breakdown_

_This engine screams out loud_

_Centipede gonna crawl westbound_

_So I don't even make a sound_

_Cause it's gonna sting me when I leave this town_

_All the people in the street_

_That I'll never get to meet_

_If these tracks don't bend somehow_

_And I got no time_

_That I got to get to_

_Where I don't need to be_

_So I..._

Sonic passed by, he grinned at Jay and dropped a gold ring into his backpack. Jay gave him a nod of appreciation as he continued to play. He couldn't help but wonder what place accepted gold rings as currency anymore. Then again, if Sonic had them, they still had to be worth something...right?

_I need this_

_Old train to breakdown_

_Oh please just_

_Let me please breakdown_

_I need this_

_Old train to breakdown_

_Oh please just_

_Let me please breakdown_

_I wanna break on down_

_But I can't stop now_

_Let me break on down_

_But you can't stop nothing_

_If you got no control_

_Of the thoughts in your mind_

_That you kept in, you know_

_You don't know nothing_

_But you don't need to know_

_The wisdoms in the trees_

_Not the glass windows_

_You can't stop wishing_

_If you don't let go_

_But things that you find_

_And you lose, and you know_

_You keep on rolling_

_Put the moment on hold_

_The frames too bright_

_So put the blinds down low_

He noticed that quite a few famous characters were now watching him. Characters like Yoshi, Knuckles, some aliens from Space Invaders, and even the paddles from Pong. He grinned and finished up the song.

_I need this_

_Old train to breakdown_

_Oh please just_

_Let me please breakdown_

_I need this_

_Old train to breakdown_

_Oh please just_

_Let me please breakdown_

_I wanna break on down_

_But I can't stop now_

The crowd clapped and began tossing coins into his backpack. He stood up and bowed to his audience as they continued on with their evening routine.

Soon the crowd was gone...except... there was this girl. She had black hair, littered with bits of candy. Her hair was tied up into a ponytail. She had done this with a bit of red licorice. She had hazel eyes that seemed to say, "_I can be sour __**and **__sweet." _She was dressed in a mint green hoodie and a skirt that appeared to made out of a peanut butter cup wrapper. Her pants looked like green candy canes and her black boots had strings of red licorice on the soles. He was probably a few inches taller than she was.

She dropped a coin into his backpack and offered a fist bump.

"Mahalo." Jay said, fist bumping her.

"_Mahalo_, is that like Japanese for top shelf or somthin'?" She asked with a squeaky voice.

"Haha no, it's Hawaiian for 'thank you'." He replied.

"Oh cool, so you're from Hawaii?" She asked, sitting down next to him.

"Yeah, I'm from a tiny arcade that was in a mall in Honolulu." He explained.

"Why are you here then?" She inquired.

"My game was unplugged. I'm the only one who managed to get out in time. It happened so fast we had no time to react. The whole arcade got unplugged, simultaneously." He murmured.

"Oh gosh, I'm really sorry to hear that." She said somberly.

"It's ok." He replied.

"It could always be worse." She assured him.

"How?" He asked.

"You could be dead!" She exclaimed, as if it should have been obvious.

"True." He replied with a nod.

"My name's Vanellope." She said offering him a handshake.

"I'm Jay." He told her, shaking her hand.

A brief minute passed before Jay spoke again.

"Soo whatcha doin here at the station?" He asked.

"I'm waiting for a friend. It's karaoke night at Tappers. We're going to meet some friends of ours there. It's their first anniversary." She replied.

"Cool." He said with a nod.

"Hey Vanellope!" a voice called from behind them.

"That's him!" She said excitedly, hopping off the bench and running past a Mario and Luigi to get to a tall barefoot guy with spiky brown hair, who was wearing an orange flannel shirt and brown overalls with one strap undone.

He scooped Vanellope up into his arms and the duo shared a brief hug.

Then they made their way back to the bench, where Jay was.

"Ralph meet Jay. Jay meet Ralph. Don't be intimidated by his size dude, he's a big pansy!" She told him.

Ralph just rolled his eyes before extending an enormous hand.

"Nice to meet you." He said.

Jay timidly shook his hand.

"Aloha." He squeaked.

"His game got unplugged." Vanellope murmured, gesturing to Jay.

"Ah jeez. I'm sorry to hear that. There's always room at Fix it Felix Jr's Bonus Level if you're looking for a place to stay." Ralph told him.

"Oh oh! Ralph, we should take him with us to Tapper! He was playing his pigmy guitar thing earlier you should of seen him!" She exclaimed.

"Eh why not, the more the merrier. You up for a little karaoke Jay?" He asked.

"Sounds like fun!" Our hero replied, hopping off the bench and packing up his things.

The trio set off for Tappers, while Vanellope whistled the _Super Mario Bros _theme.

...

They walked into Tappers to find a rockin' party.

Zangief, Bowser, and M. Bison were in the middle of performing. The song they had selected was PSY's Gangam Style.

Needless to say, they were having a little trouble with the lyrics.

Tappers had been turned into a more spacious restaurant like facility for this special night. Large tables were spread out across a large room with a grey and white checker board floor. Large flat screen TVs hung from the east and west walls. Waiters dressed in brown slacks, blue vests over white long sleeve shirts and red bow ties were wandering around taking orders and serving food and drink. The air was filled with the smell of pizza, soda and various other foods. Like steak and fish.

After the trio found a table to sit at, one of the waiters gave them each a karaoke number. When their number was called, they would have to go perform. Finally they were given menus and a list of songs that they could sing. It didn't take long for them to start conversing.

"So you two are friends, right?" Jay asked.

"Eh well, friend is kind of a strong word. I would say Ralph is more like my personal flying monkey. Except he can't fly." Vanellope replied with a chuckle.

"We have a love-hate relationship." Ralph explained.

"Gotcha." Jay said with a nod.

"In all seriousness though, we're like, the best of friends." She added.

"So Jay, what was your game like. When it was still plugged in?" Ralph asked.

"It was like a flight sim, the player had to fly out from the north shore of Oahu and fight his way to an underwater base that was going to trigger the continent cracker. A device that would cause massive earthquakes and tsunamis and stuff. All the while you were fighting jets, robots, submarines, battleships and Dolphins with laser guns strapped to their blowholes." Jay explained.

"Dolphins are mean." Vanellope grumbled.

"How would you know?" Ralph asked.

"Have you seen those things, they have big sharp teeth and small beady eyes!" She exclaimed.

"That would be a shark." Jay told her.

"Oh...well I knew that. I was just testing to see how well you knew your game." She reasoned.

The trio then turned their attention to the stage as the next number was called. After a brief minute Clyde, Blinky, Inky and Pinky were on stage singing Thriller. Soon after they began singing, Felix and Calhoun arrived.

"Hey Felix, hey drill sergeant lady!" Vanellope shouted upon sighting them.

"Hello little lady!" Felix said with smile. He was dressed in a typical repair man uniform. Tan boots, jeans, a tool belt, a button up shirt, gloves, name tag and a ball cap.

"Hey Ralph." Calhoun said with a nod. She was dressed in black carbon body armor. Her bleach blonde hair was cut extremely short and a large pistol hung from her belt.

"Ok guys, this is a kid I met earlier. His name is Jay. He's gonna be hanging out with us tonight. Jay this is Fix it Felix Jr and Sergeant Calhoun. They helped us out a while back. Now we hang out all the time!" Vanellope explained.

It didn't take long for her to explain how they all came to know each other. It was quite a fascinating story. Vanellope told most of it, while Ralph filled in the blanks. Minutes quickly turned into hours as they conversed and ate the famous Tapper's Triple Pepperoni Pizza.

Then Felix got called to the stage. He had already picked a song and before he started singing he addressed the crowd.

"I'd like to dedicate this song to my wife." He said sheepishly.

There was a mass '_Aww' _from the crowd.

"Blah, I'm getting a cavity." Vanellope grumbled.

Jay held back his laughter as Felix began to sing.

_You never close your eyes any more _

_When I kiss your lips _

_And there's no tenderness like before _

_In your fingertips _

_You're trying hard not to show it baby _

_But baby, baby I know it _

_You've lost that loving feeling _

_Oh, that loving feeling _

_You've lost that loving feeling _

_Now it's gone, gone, gone _

_Whoa-oh_

Now Felix was good at a lot of things, singing was not one of them. He was off key and the pitch of his voice fluctuated constantly during the song. He did give it his all though.

"He needs to use that hammer to fix his voice." Vanellope grumbled.

Ralph gently nudged her with his elbow and gave her a cold stare.

"What, we all know it's true. Listen to him he sounds like a cat who's being crushed by a falling candy cane tree." She protested.

"Hey, he's _**my**_cat that's being crushed by a falling candy cane tree." Calhoun said with a chuckle.

When Felix finished the song, the audience gave him a polite golf clap. The handyman bowed and left the stage as the next number was called.

It was Ralph's number.

"Break a leg!" Jay told his new friend as he made his way up to the stage.

Ralph ended up singing the song _Don't Stop Believing _and ironically, he did a pretty good job. Felix grudgingly clapped when the crowd burst out cheering.

"Is that jealousy I see?" Calhoun asked him.

"No." He replied.

"Liar!" Vanellope shouted.

"Ok some I'm not the best at everything." The hero grumbled as Ralph sat back down.

"It's alright brother, no one is perfect." He told his friend, who was normally his foe.

The next number was Calhoun's but she refused to go up and sing. So they carried on with show, calling Vanellope's number instead. She was filled with excitement.

"Hey Jay, you and I should do a duet!" She suggested.

The boy was caught off guard.

"Haha um ok, let's do it!" He replied.

"Alright awesome, let's go!" She said grabbing him by the arm and pulling him out onto the stage.

They quickly agreed on a song on soon the music was playing. Vanellope started to sing first.

_Whoa-oh-oh-oh_

_It's always a good time_

_Whoa-oh-oh-oh_

_It's always a good time_

She fell silent and Jay picked up the song from there.

_Woke up on the right side of the bed_

_What's up with this Prince song inside my head?_

_Hands up if you're down to get down tonight_

_'Cause it's always a good time_

_Slept in all my clothes like I didn't care_

_Hopped into a cab, take me anywhere_

_I'm in if you're down to get down tonight_

_'Cause it's always a good time_

The duo then started to sing in unison.

_Good morning and good night_

_I'll wake up at twilight_

_It's gonna be alright_

_We don't even have to try_

_It's always a good time_

Jay began to dance while Vanellope jumped up and down to the beat up the music.

_Whoa-oh-oh-oh Whoa-oh-oh-oh_

_It's always a good time_

_Whoa-oh-oh-oh Whoa-oh-oh-oh_

_We don't even have to try; it's always a good time._

It didn't take long for the entire restaurant to become a dance floor. People were partnering up and dancing with one another. Ralph joined the dynamic duo on stage and danced with them while the Calhoun and Felix remained in the crowd. Jay and Vanellope sang the rest of the song flawlessly. Earning a huge round of applause from the crowd when the finished.

It goes without saying that they were voted top performers of the night.

After the karaoke session wrapped up, everyone's attention turned to the football game that was being played at an arcade in New York. The Kansas Koopas were going up against the New York Goombas. The gang was already enjoying desert. Ralph and Vanellope shared a banana split, while Felix and Calhoun got two straws and shared a chocolate milkshake. Jay decided to eat a 12 inch Ice cream sandwich. To everyone's surprise, he ate every last bit of the treat.

The Koopas managed to win the game with a last second field goal.

"No!" Ralph wailed, slamming his face into the table and almost breaking it in half.

A few minutes later, a short man in a blue suit, a cocktail in his hand and a mustache walked up to the table.

"Hey Gene." Ralph grumbled.

"Pay up." The man said with a grin.

Ralph took a handful of coins out of his pocket and handed them to man.

"Thank you." He said smugly before hobbling off.

"I'm so throwing him out of the building tomorrow." Ralph groaned.

"You do that every day." Felix said with a chuckle.

"Oh yeah...right." He said with a sigh.

Vanellope yawned.

"Looks like someone is tired." Jay said with a grin.

"Oh please, I could stay up all night if I wanted to. I live in a room made out of sugar!" She scoffed.

"It is getting pretty late, maybe we should get you home." Ralph said, getting up and stretching.

"Can you carry me?" Vanellope asked.

Her friend nodded.

She hopped into his arms and yawned again.

"Jay, do you have a place to sleep?" Felix asked.

"Well I was planning on sleeping in my plane like I always do." He replied.

"Don't we have an open room at the Bonus Level Condos?" Ralph asked.

"Oh yeah, we have dozens of open rooms." Felix replied.

"You should stay there, probably a lot more comfortable then the cockpit of an airplane." Calhoun suggested.

"Gee, well if as long as I'm not a bother to anyone then sure!" Jay replied.

"Ralph, you can take Vanellope home. We'll take Jay to his place at the condos." Felix suggested.

"Sounds good to me, see you tomorrow." Ralph replied leaving a few coins on the table to pay for portion of the tab before walking out of the restaurant.

As they left, Jay heard a snip-it of a conversation.

"Ralph, what do you think happened to the _real_ King Candy?"

"Your dad? Honestly kiddo, I don't know."

...

After paying his part of the tab and waiting for Felix and Calhoun to pay their share, Jay allowed his mind to wander. Vanellope seemed like a cool person, she was fun to be around and was pretty dang cute. He began to think of a game plan for winning her heart when Felix disrupted his thoughts.

"Time to go." He said, holding back a yawn.

A few train rides later they had arrived in Niceland, the town inside Fix it Felix Jr. Calhoun made her way into the main building while Felix showed Jay to his own little house.

It was a fairly nice home. Brick fireplace, a comfy sofa, a good sized TV, a fully stocked fridge and pantry and a small study with a bookshelf full of novels. No comic books though. There was even a dresser with some clothes in it.

"Thanks again for letting me stay in your game." Jay told the handy man.

"No worries kid. Well I'm gonna go hit the hay. Tomorrow is Sunday, so a lot of kids will be showing up to the arcade before its time to head back to school for the week." He explained.

"I'll be sure to stay out of your guy's way." The boy replied.

"Ah you're welcome to join in on the bonus round if you'd like. One of your neighbors can fill you in on that in the morning. See yah." The handy man said tipping his hat to the boy before exiting.

Jay waited for his footsteps to fade before acting.

Once he was sure Felix was gone, he took an oval disc from a pouch on his armor and threw it into the center of the room. A hologram was projected into the open air. It was a map showing all the arcades in the continental United States. All the arcades were connected via numerous power lines which were shown in orange. The arcades themselves were shown as small green circles. He looked over to his old home; the circle was flashing red along with most of the arcades in the Hawaiian Islands. All shutdown by the same mysterious weapon that, somehow, attacked and destroyed a game's code directly. The character who had that weapon was called the Code Master. He had started with Jay's arcade and now after pursuing him through a data wormhole; Jay was scouring the country, trying to find the Code Master before he chose his next target.

"Where are you, I know you're out there." He snarled, staring at the map until he passed out from exhaustion.

_**A.N- Well I hope you enjoyed reading chapter one of my fanfic. I'm going to do my best to keep the film characters from getting out of character during the course of this fic. I really want to do this film justice. I look forward to reading your reviews and feedback!**_

_**Until next time,**_

_**Wolf out! **_


	2. Happy New Year?

Chapter 2

_Happy_ New Year?

Vanellope tossed and turned in her bed before sitting upright and awakening with a gasp. She looked around her room, trying assure herself that she was safe here.

"It was just a nightmare." She whispered to herself.

She made an honest effort to go back to sleep, but she was unable to do so. Fearing that nightmare that had been tormenting her for the past few weeks. Unable to fall back asleep, she pulled back her cotton candy blankets and hopped off of her sponge cake bed.

Tiptoeing so that she wouldn't disturb anyone who was actually sleeping, she made her way to the Royal Wardrobe and opened up a box that was tucked away behind the waffle cone door. She grabbed the device inside the box and made her way back to bed. The object she had grabbed was her Christmas present from Calhoun. A two way radio that she could talk to Ralph with if, for some reason, they couldn't meet up in person on a certain day.

She pulled the blankets over her head and turned the radio on. She watched the LED screen light up and waited for a signal acquisition. The device chimed once this was accomplished, she grinned and pushed a button on the side of the radio before whispering into it.

"President Fartfeathers to Admiral Underpants, come in Admiral Underpants."

She waited for a response, but she didn't receive one. There was a chance that Ralph's radio was off; she hoped that wasn't the case though.

"Hey...Ralph I need someone to talk to. Are you up?" She asked, her voice sounding a little timid.

Once again she waited for a response, and this time she got one.

"I am now, what's up squirt?" Her friend said with a yawn.

"I had that nightmare again." She whimpered.

"The one with Turbo holding you when you and trying to put you to sleep by singing the creepy lullaby?" He asked.

She shuttered at the memory before responding.

"Yeah." She replied.

"Well like I said before, Turbo is gone. He won't ever bother either of us ever again." He assured her, he sounded eager to get back to sleep. She couldn't blame him, it was pretty late and she had doing this to him a lot over the past few days. However she had to vent all of this to someone she trusted, and Ralph was the only one who fit the bill.

"This time was different, while Turbo was singing to me...I could hear someone calling my name." She began.

"Do you know who it was?" He asked after a minute or so of silence.

"No, I don't. It was a guy calling out for help, that's all I know for sure." She replied.

"Freaky." He grumbled.

"Yeah, totally." She sighed before continuing.

"It just all felt _so _real."

"I've had some freaky nightmares too, but you just got to remember it's all a work of your imagination." He told her.

"I know, but it's still hard to go back to sleep knowing that I'll have that nightmare." She whimpered.

There were a few minutes of silence before Ralph responded.

"Sorry, I was getting a glass of milk. Anyways, I have an idea. Tomorrow I have my Bad Guys Anon meeting. While I'm there I can ask Dr. Eggman about your nightmares. Maybe he can make some sense out of them."

"I don't know...besides what would he know about dreams?" She grumbled, already doubting the plan.

"Well he's got like an IQ of like 300, so he's kind of a genius. He can't just call himself a doctor for kicks right?" He replied.

"How should I know? She hissed.

"Well it's the only person that I can think of who might know." He chided.

She contemplated the plan before replying.

"Oh alright, but if he makes me lay down on a couch and talk about my feelings and junk, I'm gonna lose it."

"I don't think it will come to that." Her friend assured her.

"Well alright if you say so...thanks for listening Ralph." She mumbled.

His response began with a loud yawn, making her jump and turn down the volume on the radio so that he wouldn't wake everyone else up.

"No problem kiddo, now you get some sleep. You've got a lot of racing to do in the morning. "

"Aye aye Admiral, President Fartfeaters signing off. Over and out." She replied.

"Good night Vanellope." He said with a chuckle.

"Night." She whispered, turning off her radio and bundling herself up.

Much to her surprise, her nightmare did not return.

The new one was worse.

Much worse.

...

It was pitch black all around. She and all the other racers of Sugar Rush were holding hands in one giant circle. They were dancing to a distorted song that sounded like it was coming from a music box that had been smashed, burned and then put back together using chewed bubble gun.

Her fellow racers all had disturbed looks on their faces. It was clear they had seen something horrific. She could see that in their eyes. However they were smiling, like nothing had happened. They were all singing a song, incredibly slowly and with monotone voices.

_Ring-a-round a rosie,_

_A pocket full of posies,_

_Ashes! Ashes!_

_We all fall down._

They continued to sing the song, even as Vanellope tried to get away from them. Doing her best to yank her hands out of their vice like grip. She failed to succeed. The girls continued to sing, but as they did a horrifying thing began to happen.

All at once, they began to glitch out. However unlike Vanellope, who turned blue when she glitched, her friends turned red. Then as the continued to glitch, they began to slowly disintegrate into code. The process started at their feet and made its way up their body. All the while the girls kept singing and dancing, while Vanellope stared at them in horror.

Their voices began to distort themselves; words were being replaced by whirring noises, static, and one of the girls shouting out a random sequence of numbers. Soon all of them had dissolved into code. Red numbers swirled around Vanellope like embers floating into the sky during a Forrest fire.

Out of the darkness came Turbo, it was him who was singing now. Vanellope tried to move but she couldn't. She could only watch as the deceased villain advanced on her.

_Ring-a-round a rosie,_

_A pocket full of posies_,

He glitched like the other girls had, turning red and appearing right in front of Vanellope. He grabbed her by the throat. He was no longer singing, his voice was now more like a maniacal screech.

_ASHES! ASHES!_

_WE ALL FALL __**DOWN!**_

He let go of her throat and she fell into nothingness.

...

She awoke with a scream that startled the people who had come to wake her up.

"Calm down! you haven't woken up that late!" Wynchel the doughnut cop shouted.

"Shut up you idiot!" His partner, Duncan, snarled.

She didn't acknowledge either of them. Her heart was pounding so fast that it hurt and she was forced to wipe the sweat off of her forehead.

"Madame President, are you alright?" Sour Bill asked, actually having a hint of concern in his voice.

"No, no I'm not...take me off the racing roster for the day. I'm not feeling well." She replied.

The two doughnut cops exchanged a worried look with Sour Bill before he replied

"A-as you wish, Madame President." The small green orb replied before gesturing for the two cops to follow him out the door.

Once they got out of the room Sour Bill made his way downstairs and into the throne room. He walked over to the wall mounted candy cane phone and dialed 411.

"Yes, can I get the residential number for Wreck It Ralph please?" He asked.

The operator told him that Ralph didn't have a phone line.

"Ok, how about Fix it Felix."

The operator connected him to the number. However it wasn't Felix who answered. It was Sergeant Calhoun.

"Yes hello? This is Sour Bill from Sugar Rush. Can you pass on a message to Wreck It Ralph for me? It's kind of important."

...

Jay awoke with a groan, he noticed that he had left his holomap on. He slowly got to his feet and stretched. Upon seeing the changes to the map, he nearly fell back down. Two arcades on the east coast of the country had been wiped out over the course of the night. He zoomed in on these arcades and examined them. They were both significantly bigger then Litwak's arcade, based on their energy signatures.

He scowled at the two dead arcades. The Code Master had to be stopped.

...

Meanwhile, Ralph was at Tappers having breakfast with Zangief and Dr. Eggman before the arcade opened.

They were discussing the outcome of last night's football game when Ralph remembered his conversation with Vanellope. He would have to be careful about how he said this, he didn't want anyone else to invade her privacy.

"Hey Doc, could I ask you a question?"

"That would depend on the question." He replied.

"Well you see...my friend is having this recurring nightmare. Every night for the past few nights. In this nightmare, a very antagonistic figure from her past ends up holding her and singing this creepy lullaby and now she can hear someone calling for help in the background. " Ralph explained.

"Very intriguing, my knowledge of how the brain works is limited but I know that dreams are often very symbolic and that you can't dream about something or somebody that you have no previous knowledge of." The Doctor replied.

"So that voice, she's heard it before , but she just can't remember who it belongs to."

"Precisely."

"Hey guys, the arcade is opening in a few minutes." A waiter said from across the room.

The villains promptly got up, paid their tabs and got on a train back to Game Central Station. Once they arrived, they quickly went their separate ways. When Ralph arrived in Niceland, he found Felix waiting for him at the station.

"There you are! I've been looking for you!" He exclaimed.

"Relax, my game jumping days are over." Ralph assured his friend.

"It's not that! It's Vanellope! She's dropped out of the race roster for the day, even the annual Ice Cream Valley Rally!" He wailed.

"What? Why?" Our favorite villain asked.

"I don't know, Sour Bill just said she wasn't feeling well." Felix explained.

Ralph sighed.

"I'll have to go see her once the arcade closes."

"Quarter alert!" a nicelander called out.

"Well, time to go to work." Felix murmured.

Ralph nodded and the duo rushed off to take their posts.

...

Throughout the day, Jay participated in most of bonus rounds. He primarily stuck with Felix during this time, keeping Ralph's helpers off the player's back. It took him a little bit to decide how much help he would provide. When the player was excellent or decent, he would hang back, tailing Felix and only leaping in to help when the player was in a serious pinch. However if the player wasn't very skilled, he would stick closer to Felix and try to distract Ralph's assistants so that the player could progress at a faster pace. More often than not, he was knocked off the tower for this.

By the end of the day, he felt that he had earned his keep. He decided that he'd talk to Ralph about what there was to do around the arcade, especially since it was New Year's Eve.

"Well there is always the huge party in Game Central Station that starts after the big race Sugar Rush, Vanellope's game, wraps up." He explained.

"What's in it for the racers?" Jay asked.

"Eh mostly bragging rights. They get named top racer of the year, that's about it really." He replied.

"That sounds pretty cool, so I'm guessing most of the arcade goes out to watch then."

"Well it kinda depends, like the year before Vanellope became President, hardly anyone went, but this year there is supposed to be a huge turnout. I think the only people who aren't going are a pair of Surge Protectors. The others will be working security at the race."

"Are you going?"

"Of course I am, I'm in the race!"

Jay grinned at that.

"Cool, I'm guessing it's like a relay race then."

Ralph nodded.

"I will drive the first segment of the race and then Vanellope will take on the back half of the race...well at least that's what the plan was."

Jay raised an eyebrow before responding.

"What do you mean?"

"Vanellope says she isn't feeling well, I'm on my way to check up on her."

"Mind if I tag along?"

Ralph shrugged.

"Sure, maybe seeing more of friends will make her feel a little better."

The duo then set off for Sugar Rush.

...

After a series of complaints about 'strange activity' coming from Diet Cola Mountain, Vanellope (in her desire to be left alone) sent two police officers, Duncan and Wynchel, to investigate. That had been about six hours ago. Neither of the police officers had returned, and now there were reports that Candlehead (the racer who had originally complained about the activity) was missing as well.

However, during their investigation, the two cops had been keeping Vanellope posted on the status of their investigation via radio. Since the two officers had gone silent, the president of Sugar Rush could only reflect on what she had heard.

Nothing had sounded out of the ordinary, but she couldn't help but think that they were in serious trouble.

...

_**Six hours earlier...**_

"We have arrived at the mountain and are proceeding inside via a small tunnel." Wynchel explained.

"Be careful fellas." Vanellope replied.

"Yes Ma'am." The doughnut replied as he and his partner proceeded into the depths of the mountain.

"Hey Wynchel, are you seeing what I'm seeing?" Duncan asked.

"If you mean the deposits of charred material that line this tunnel, then yes." He replied.

"This tunnel isn't here by design, it was made by explosives." Duncan grumbled.

"Exactly." His partner replied.

The duo proceeded into the heart of the mountain, where they should have found pool of diet cola. Instead they found a huge hole in the ground. A makeshift elevator had been assembled. It most likely took its passengers to the bottom of the chasm.

"We have found what appears to be an excavation site." Wynchel said into his radio.

"We'll Sour Bill did issue a digging permit to some Nerds a few months back." Vanellope explained after a few minutes of silence.

"Why did they want the permit?" The officer asked.

"Sour Bill says they were looking to study the structure of the mountain, or something like that." She explained.

"Well there are a lot of tools lying around, but where are the Nerds?" Duncan grumbled.

"Madame President, we will be proceeding down into the shaft in search of the Nerds. I can't guarantee we will be able to stay in radio contact." Wynchel explained.

There was a moment of silence before she replied.

"Do whatever you believe in necessary officers, just make sure whatever is down there isn't a threat to my fellow racers."

"Copy that." Wynchel replied, motioning for his partner to get into the elevator.

The descent was long and slow, 20 minutes passed before they were even half way down. Just when the bottom was insight, the elevator cable snapped and the duo plummeted 45 feet and landed with a crash.

When Duncan regained consciousness, he struggled to get to his feet. When he did, he saw that his partner was in bad shape. The lower half of Wynchel's body had been practically flattened. A chunk of debris from the elevator had him pinned. Duncan did his best to lift the hunk of debris off his friend, but it was no use.

It was pretty much pitch black, and he knew that he needed to find the radio in order to call for help.

He pulled a pixie stick off his belt and snapped the top off. A bright pink flame shot from the top of the stick, it would a decent amount of light for about eight hours or so. He then scoured the debris field for the radio, finding it next to the remains of a Nerd.

He bent down and examined the wound that the poor two legged creature had on its neck. It was a puncture wound, someone had stabbed him with a weapon. He examined the Nerd further and noticed that tiny green numbers were floating up off the deceased character.

He then attempted to call for help on the radio.

"Madame President, Officer Wynchel is severely injured. You need to send help right away, we're stuck down here without a way out. Whatever is going on down here, it's not normal."

The only reply the officer received was white noise.

"_**AAAAAGH!" **_Wynchel screamed.

Duncan pulled out his night stick and spun around, to see his partner being dragged off into the shadows by an unseen force, leaving a trail of frosting and crumbs in his wake.

"Kayden!" Duncan shouted, scooping up the pixie stick as he ran after his friend.

He sprinted down a Carmel corridor, following the sounds of agonizing screams. He eventually found his partner in front of two giant almond roca doors. He was still screaming bloody murder as Duncan came to his aid.

"Kayden, I'm here man. It's going to be alright." He assured his partner.

"its hurts so bad man, I just want to respawn!"

"You will trust me, just give it a minute." Duncan assured his friend, examine his wounds.

The entire lower half of his body had been torn clean off, and there was a gaping hole in his chest. Large amounts of orange code were floating up from the wound like smoke coming out of a chimney.

Duncan turned his back to the door and readied his weapon.

"Come on out you coward, when I'm done with you you'll be begging for mommy!" He snarled.

There was a loud BANG as the officer felt something tear through his leg. He dropped to the floor and turned to see a black armored figure standing over him, a pistol pointed at his face.

"Go on, do it. All you'll do is make me respawn. Then I'll come after you!" Duncan hissed.

His assailant shot him again in the other leg.

"You and your friend won't be respawing anytime soon, after all you two work for me now." The armored figure replied, shooting him in the shoulder.

"I'll die a thousand painful deaths before calling you my boss." Duncan snarled.

"Death will be a blessing you'll be lucky to receive once I'm done with you, and don't worry. You won't have to call me _boss. _I think master sounds much better." The figure sneered, driving a clawed hand into the Duncan's face.

...

_**Present time...**_

Ralph and Jay strolled through the halls of The Candy Castle. They greeted various characters as they made their way to the throne room.

"Sup Ralph?" One racer asked. He had a pumpkin for a helmet with an orange and black jacket over a white t-shirt along with his black pants and boots.

"Gloyd, my man!" Ralph replied, giving the racer a high five.

"Hello!" Rancis exclaimed, giving Jay a friendly wave.

"Hey Wreck it, watch yourself on the track tonight. I'll be gunning for you!" Snowanna shouted.

"I'll believe it when I see it!" He replied.

Jay chuckled as his friend exchanged taunts with the various racers.

When they reached the throne room, they found Vanellope sitting cross legged on her throne, staring dejectedly at the floor.

"Hey guys." She said sadly.

"I heard you weren't feeling well." Ralph murmured.

"Yeah...something like that. Hey um, Jay, I need to talk to Ralph in private." She explained.

"No prob." He replied, leaving the room and closing the door behind him.

Ralph walked over to the steps of the throne and sat down.

"What's that matter squirt?"

" The nightmare, they're getting worse. Right after I got done talking with you, I had a different one. It was _way _worse than the other one. I woke up _**screaming **_Ralph." She told him.

He gently put a hand on her shoulder.

"I talked to Dr. Eggman earlier."

She turned her gaze from the floor to him.

"What did he say?"

Ralph inhaled before speaking.

"He said that it was probably just your imagination and that there's nothing we can really do about it."

"Oh, that stinks." She grumbled, turning her gaze back to the floor.

"Yeah I'm sorry kiddo."

They spent a minute or so in silence before she spoke up.

"I'm a pretty crummy main character."

"What, no you aren't! You're awesome!" Ralph protested.

"How do you figure? I'm supposed to be the toughest racer around, completely fearless. Instead I'm letting a stupid dream get in the way of what I love to do more than anything in the wide world." She grumbled.

"Vanellope, everyone is scared of something, even me. I had never felt more scared in my life then the time Turbo was holding me above Sugar Rush while you, Felix and Calhoun were about to be eaten by Cy-Bugs." He explained.

"How did you get over it?" She asked.

"Well, I just told myself I wasn't going to let my fear control me. I knew that if I let my fear get control, then Turbo had already won. So, I refused to let my demons win and in the end I won and they lost."

She nodded in understanding.

"Well it's up to you if you want to race or not squirt. I won't try to persuade you to do anything. Just do what you think is best for you, in the end that will always be the right choice." He told her in closing, standing up and leaving.

Vanellope sighed and reflected on what her friend had told her.

She closed her eyes and saw Turbo, staring at her with an evil look in his eyes and a frightening yellow smile.

_"I'm here. You're not. You lost and we won. You have no power over me." _ She thought, watching as her tormentor faded into dust.

"Sour Bill!" She shouted.

The sound of footsteps informed her of his arrival.

" Yes Madame President?"

Her eyes snapped open, a devilish grin forming on her face.

"Tell the pit crew to prep my cart, I'm racing tonight."

...

Soon it was race time, and just like Ralph had predicted, the stands were packed with characters from the arcade. The raceway was buzzing with activity. Fans buying memorabilia and snacks , placing bets and heading down to the front of the stands to watch each race team prepare. Only the ten racers would be competing today. Ralph was, of course, paired with Vanellope. Gloyd was paired up with Rancis, Minty Zaki's partner was Crumbelina, Swizzle Malarkey had been paired with Jubileena, and of course the reigning champion, Taffyta was with Snowanna Rainbeau. The other racers would be watching from the crowd with their fans, rooting for their friends and hoping that next year, they would qualify for the race.

Up in the press box, Sour Bill would be narrating the race action along with the Street Fighter announcer.

"Welcome to the Ice Cream Valley Rally, the annual championship race for the game Sugar Rush. Today the top racers of this past year will pair up and duke it out for the Banana Split Cup." Sour Bill explained, speaking into the PA system.

"Let's get started!" The Game Announcer said excitedly.

"Um yes let's, but before we begin, we would like to go over two things. Ladies and gentlemen if you can see me in the Press Box but cannot see my colleague it's because he is a disembodied voice with no actual body." Sour Bill told the people.

"Secondly, the track layout! The track that has been setup for today's race is the biggest track the game has to offer and can only be used when the player selects the Hardest difficulty mode." The Game Announcer explained.

"That almost never happens." Sour Bill added.

"Correct, which means that these racers are all at a bit of a disadvantage because they rarely race on this particular track. Especially President Vanellope and her partner Wreck it Ralph, who has never raced before. So I think we can all agree that they are the underdogs of the day." The Game Announcer exclaimed.

"Ralph will actually have the easiest portion of the track, no serious maneuvering will be required of him. It will all be about getting off to a good start, staying towards the front of the pack and avoiding the various hazards that lay in wait along his route." Sour Bill reminded his colleague.

"Very true, but we also should take into account that he will be going into this race against some of the top racers of the year. All of whom have earned their starting position today. Ralph however will be starting at the back of the grid and will have some ground to make up right out of the gate. We also can't forget that Vanellope will be going up against the reigning champ during her segment of the race. Taffyta has never lost the Rally before and I doubt that she will give her new president any special treatment. It will be a battle all the way to the finish line." The Announcer countered.

...

Down on the track, Vanellope and Ralph were going over a track briefing with Calhoun, who would advise them on things like when to pass, how to pass, shifting up a gear or down a gear and when to be aggressive or passive.

"Be sure to brake early when coming up on this hairpin turn otherwise you're I'm for a respawn and a DNF on your racing record." Calhoun told Vanellope.

"Got it." She replied.

"Attention segment two racers, please get into your vehicles and follow the Zero Car to the exchange point." Sour Bill announced via the PA.

The Zero Car was driven by none other than an Oreo guard. The vehicle's body was composed of a twinkle with sweet tarts for wheels. A bright blue ring pop was sticking out of the top of the car behind the driver. At the flick of a switch the ring pop began flashing like the lights atop a police car.

The Zero Car started driving off, heading down a service road that led to the exchange point. It didn't take long for racers to begin tailing the vehicle in a single file line.

"Well I guess I'm off." Vanellope said hopping into her cart and starting up the engine.

"I guess I'll see you on the podium." Ralph said with a grin.

"Count on it!" She replied, driving off.

"Segment one racers, to your vehicles!" The Game Announcer shouted.

Ralph got into his vehicle, a dune buggy with a chassis of hardened chocolate fudge which was reinforced with almond supports for maximum endurance and toughness. The wheels were made out of cherry flavored saltwater taffy. He got comfortable before putting on his helmet. It too was made of hardened chocolate fudge and had a red visor made out of solid Lollie pop, which if crafted correctly, was stronger than the glass used to make car windshields.

"Drivers... Start. Your. ENGINES!" Sour Bill and The Game Announcer said simultaneously.

The crowd began to cheer. Engines were being revved, taunts were being exchanged between racers and fans. A song called _Sideways_ was being blasted from the speakers set up in the stands and along with starting line . At the top of the bleachers, amongst a crowd of assorted candies was Felix and Jay. Hooting and hollering just like everyone else. A pair of fighter jets from Hero's Duty flew low over the stands, the roar of their engines blending with the thunderous noise of race car engines and the cheering of the fans and characters who had filled up every last seat. The air was electric with excitement. No matter who won, it would be a day to remember.

"Alrighty Billy boy, get em rolling!" The Game Announcer said excitedly.

Sour Bill's voice changed from monotone to jubilant with a slight southener accent.

"Oh goody, goody let's go racin' boys and girls!"

An air horn sounded and the cars took off from the starting line.

The fans cheered, waving flags and foam fingers around the air as they turned their attention to the jumbotron.

The Ice Cream Valley Rally was on.

...

Ralph had managed to slide into fourth place right after the race started. He still had some ground to make up though and quite a ways to go. The turn was coming up, a wide banked left turn that would require a minimal amount of control input.

"Alright Ralph, stay on the inside of the turn and stay ahead of Swizzle by just a hair, that way he won't be able to slide in front of you." Calhoun instructed through the radio.

"Ten-four." Ralph replied, looking to his right to ensure that he was just a little ahead of Swizzle's bright rainbow colored cart with its long cone shaped body that resembled a unicorn pop.

Soon the racers were coming out of the turn, with Ralph and Swizzle still neck and neck. Ralph floored it and began to pull ahead of his fellow racer. With a roar of static Calhoun began speaking once again.

"Wreck it, be careful! Swizzle is dropping back on purpose to set himself up on the inside line for the next turn. Ease right and hug the edge of the road." She snapped.

He did as instructed and thwarted Swizzle's plan. Sure enough, a few seconds later, Ralph found himself entering another turn. This one was a little sharper then the last, so he found himself easing up on the gas pedal just a bit. Upon coming out of the turn he accelerated once again and left Swizzle behind.

...

_Back in the Press Box_

"In a interesting turn of events, Wreck It Ralph snatches the third place away from Swizzle Malarkey. He also managed to overtake Snowanna right out of the gate. This leaves the two most inexperienced racers, Minty Zaki and Rancis Fluggerbutter, battling it out for the lead." Sour Bill began.

"It may become a three way battle if Ralph manages to get up there, although he isn't the only one gunning for the top spot. Snowanna is hot on his tail. " The Game Announcer added, before turning on the PA.

"ARE YOU LOVING THIS!?" He shouted.

The crowd went ballistic.

"Make some noise people!" He demanded.

The cheering got louder.

"That's what I'm talking about!" He said with a hearty laugh.

"It looks like our racers are entering their first hazard zone, the Pixie Dust Dunes." Sour Bill pointed out.

"What is so hazardous about this place?" The Announcer asked.

"Well if you aren't in first, then you can see because of all the dust that is being flung into the air and visibility is key when you have crystallized formations of hardened candy sticking up out of the ground that could cause a race ending crash or in the best case scenario, severely damage a tire." Bill explained.

...

Ralph never wanted to see the color pink again, because at this point that is all he could see. The dust was beginning to build up on his visor, which meant that he was constantly wiping it off. Every now and then he would be forced to swerve to avoid a giant purple sugar crystal sticking out of the dunes. This caused a major drop in speed, after he swerved for a fourth time he saw Snowanna rush past him at top speed. He groaned in frustration and floored it, wiping more dust of his visor as he did so.

Soon he had caught up to the top three, who were neck and neck as they approached the end of the hazard area. The three of them had practically set up a smokescreen that made it impossible to see. Then there was a scream of terror followed by a huge CRUNCH CRACK! Ralph eased to the right to see that Minty Zaki had crashed into a crystal formation, her cart was wrecked and she was slumped over the steering wheel. She then disappeared in a explosion of mint leaves. Ralph accelerated and began over took both Snowanna and Rancis who had probably decelerated to look at the crash.

His radio crackled to life, Calhoun was shouting at him.

"Wreck it, if you can hear me, brake hard!"

He emerged from the dust storm to find a steep hill that led down into a valley. He was going so fast he didn't have time to react. He was sent soaring into the air, he quickly leaned back, trying to focus his weight to the rear of the cart so that the vehicle didn't swan dive into the track. His desperate tactic worked and he landed with a couple of huge bounces.

"Are you alright?" Calhoun asked.

He was too stunned to answer.

"Answer me Ralph!"

"I'm fine, but I'm not sure about my cart. The left front wheel took beating from that landing. It sounds like its vibrating." He informed her.

"The tire must be coming loose. Try and take it easy when you go into turns, decelerate and give up positions if you have to. You should be running into power up pretty soon. Hopefully one of them can repair your cart." She ordered.

"Give up positions? I'm so far ahead though, I'm in first!" He protested.

"Yes and only if you have to, if you lose a tire then you're done and Vanellope will be forced to start the second leg of the race last." She explained.

"I understand." He replied.

...

"Now I understand why you guys call them hazard zones. A crash and a cart that almost became an airplane!" The Game Announcer said with a nervous laugh.

"That's right folks, Minty Zaki crashed and was forced to respawn. This means a DNF on her racing record and a penalty for her partner, Crumbelina DiCaramello, who will be forced to start last on the second leg of the race." Sour Bill explained.

"Meanwhile, Ralph took the lead after a miscalculation led to him severely damaging his cart. Tamara Calhoun has told us that Ralph has severely damaged his left front wheel which is in danger of falling off unless Ralph can find a Ginger Crew power up, which will set up a pit stop manned by ginger bread men at the nearest straight away. The pit stop takes approximately 30 to 45 seconds and will allow Ralph to drive his cart without fear of overworking the damaged chassis." The Announcer added.

"Ginger Crew power ups are rare though, because most players never need them. This means the odds are once again stacked against Ralph. If he takes anymore damage, he'll be out of the race which means Vanellope will be forced to start last alongside Crumbelina." Sour Bill told his colleague.

"I won't be surprised if Snowanna and Swizzle gun for him during this run through Gumball Gorge."

...

Ralph yelped as he swerved to avoid a Sweet Seeker which streaked past his car.

"Take it easy in the tires, they won't be able to take much more of this swerving nonsense!" Calhoun barked.

Ralph crashed through a power up and hoped it was a Ginger Crew. Instead he got a giant vanilla ice cream missile. He wasn't exactly sure what to do with this, since he was still in first. So he fired it off into the open air as he approached another row of power ups. The missile slammed into one of the giant gumball machines that loomed over head. The glass shattered and a hail storm of gumballs began falling from the sky, crushing Swizzle and Rancis forcing them to respawn.

Our favorite bad guy crashed through another power up and got what he needed. The Ginger Crew. He deployed the power up and the accelerated to get to it before Snowanna could catch up. He emerged from the gorge and saw the pit crew setting up on the side of the road. Then he jumped as a sweet seeker destroyed his back wheels and his damaged left wheel. Sugar sparks flew as his cart slid to a stop, Snowanna blew past Ralph, blowing him a kiss as she went by.

He noticed that he had stopped just a few feet short of the entrance to the pit stop.

"Hustle boys we're on the clock!" The Crew chief hollered.

A group of ginger bread men with base ball caps on their heads pulled Ralph's cart into the pit stop. They quickly went to work. Giving our favorite villain a swig of soda, a change of tires and a small engine tuning that would increase acceleration and top speed.

All in about thirty seconds.

"We're done with you, move it out!" The Crew Chief shouted.

"I didn't make it into the pit stop though, why did you guys pull me in anyways?" Ralph asked.

"I'm not picky dude, you were close enough. Now drive!" The Crew Chief snapped.

Ralph nodded and took off after Snowanna.

...

Vanellope was sitting in her cart, awaiting Ralph's arrival. She was doing her best to ground the butterflies that were flying around in her stomach. So far she had failed. Then she heard two vehicles coming upon behind her.

She turned to see Snowanna rapidly approaching. She entered the tunnel and pulled off the track and came to a stop at the designate exchange zone. A Oreo guard gave Taffyta the thumbs up and she sped off.

A minute or so later, Ralph pulled into the exchange zone. The Oreo guard gave Vanellope the signal and she sped off at top speed. A few seconds later the others racers were allowed to leave.

This was it.

...

"Despite all odds, Ralph managed to get the exchange point a minute after Snowanna. The others racers are battling for positions as they take off after the Taffyta, who holds a slim lead over Vanellope." Sour Bill announced.

"Come on Vanellope, you got this." Felix murmured.

...

Vanellope drifted around a sharp hairpin turn, closely following her adversary. Calhoun was keeping her up to date on what was coming up, but informed her that the layout for the last three miles of the track had been kept a secret from everyone, meaning that she would be on her own.

The track was taking the racers down Vanilla Mountain, the smaller twin peak of Diet Cola Mountain. Tiny ice cream snowflakes were creating blizzard like conditions. Ice on the track would call for adjustments in speed, which would occasionally allow Taffyta to pull farther ahead.

Vanellope grunted as she was forced to tap the brakes and drift around another sharp turn. As she came out of the turn she attempted to accelerate but a patch of ice began to make her slide, frustratingly she eased off on the gas and regained control before accelerating again, although this time she did so slowly.

Her car's engine roared as she made her way down a hill, she then drifted around another sharp turn and slammed on the accelerator. Thankfully there was no ice this time and she was able to make up a lot ground before being forced to slow down for another turn. She had now caught up to Taffyta and was looking for a way to overtake her. Taffyta wasn't very good at drifting, but her car's acceleration was much better then Vanellope's car. Instead of drifting, Taffyta would stay decelerate to a very low speed and hug the corner of the turn. She would then quickly accelerate out of the turn and be on her way.

Vanellope's drifting allowed her to keep a descent amount of speed but because she was still relatively new to the technique, she was forced to take the turns a little wider then Taffyta did. Her car's acceleration rate was inferior to Taffyta's, so in order to pass her she was going to have to overtake her while drifting and get up to speed as quickly as possible.

Vanellope eventually got her chance when her fellow racer made a fateful mistake. Taffyta came into a turn slower than usual and nearly brought her cart to halt. Vanellope came drifting around the turn and overtook her foe.

The terrain gradually changed from a steep mountain slope to a winding road that went through a valley that lay in the heart of the candy cane forest. Needless to say, ice cream flakes were falling here as well although but it wasn't a total blizzard like it had been going down the mountain. However, there was no longer any ice on the track which allowed Vanellope to push her vehicle to the limit with little concern.

As she and Taffyta dueled for first place, the distance to the finish line grew ever smaller. Then Vanellope felt her car begin to spin after a feeling something bump her back left wheel. She quickly recovered but scowled as Taffyta accelerated away. Once again she was in pursuit.

Taffyta yelped as she was forced to brake hard and turn to avoid going off the raceway and onto a off road short cut. Her vehicle was not built for the terrain. By doing this she would be forced to take the long way around, while Vanellope was able to traverse the coca puff ridden trail with little to no trouble. Although she was forced to drift on a sharp left turn that merged back with the main track. This loss in speed gave Taffyta time to catch up, negating the advantage the shortcut had given her rival.

As she got back on the tail of her fellow racer, Vanellope scolded herself. There had been no need to brake that hard when she came into that last turn. She shook of the disappointment and began to think of how she was going to pass her foe.

...

"This right here is truly the greatest driving either of these girls have ever done. They're practically equals!" The Game Announcer shouted.

"These two racers are fighting for the top position as they come into the last few turns before the straight away. That's where this race will be won or lost." Sour Bill added.

Meanwhile, Ralph had arrived back at the grand stands. Calhoun was watching the video feed with narrowed eyes.

"How's she doing?" Ralph asked.

"She's not in a good position right now, if she can't overtake Taffyta by the time they hit the straight away..." Calhoun didn't finish the thought, she just sighed.

"Let me talk to her." Ralph suggested.

"What are you going to say?" She asked.

"Tamora, trust me." Ralph assured her.

The Space Marine reluctantly handed over the radio.

...

Everything!

She had tried everything but no matter what she did she could not pass her.

Vanellope had given it her all and it still wasn't enough. Her cart just wasn't fast enough to overtake her foe. She had tried to glitch but she couldn't do it, she was just too nervous. Plus she wanted to prove that glitch or no glitch she was the best racer in Sugar Rush.

"Hey kid." Ralph said through the radio.

"What is it?" She asked.

"Having trouble passing Taffyta?" He asked.

"Uh yeah, her cart is way better than mine. No matter what I do, she counters it with pure speed." She grumbled as she drifted around another turn.

"Well you just need to be faster." He said as if it were that simple.

"How do you suppose I do that genius, pull out the rocket engine I have stored in my hood?" She snapped.

"I bet that would be cool if you actually had one." Her friend said with a chuckle.

"Are you done, 'cause you're starting to annoy me!" She hissed as her foe cut her off and once again foiled her attempt to pass her.

"Not yet. Listen when you get to the straight away get right behind Taffyta and stay behind her until I give the word, then pass her!" He instructed.

She scrunched her eyebrows at her friend's plan.

"What's that gonna do?"

"Just trust me squirt. It'll work." He assured her.

Vanellope signed but did as instructed, she got right behind her adversary slowed down so that she was right on her bumper as they came out of a wide banked turn. They were now on the straight away.

Slowly but surely the finish line came up into view.

Vanellope waited for the signal but she got nothing.

They were getting closer.

"Ralph!?" She yelped.

"Not yet!"

And closer still.

"Now?" She asked.

"Nope!"

They were more than halfway there now.

"Ralph I swear if I lose this race because of you I'm gonna kick you right in your-"

"NOW!" He shouted.

She quickly accelerated and shifted to her highest gear, easing out from behind Taffyta's cart.

Time slowed down.

The fans watched eagerly, the announcers were silent. Jay was bouncing up and down nervously, Calhoun had her eyes shut, Felix was biting on the straw to his drink.

At first nothing happened but then, somehow, Vanellope passed Taffyta. She slowly pulled away from the reigning champ and managed to get her entire car across the finish line before Taffyta's front wheels hit the mark.

The crowd went nuts.

Jay whistled with approval, Felix threw his soda into the air and jumped with joy. Meanwhile Ralph and Calhoun exchanged a fist bump as grins crept across their faces like they had ever had any doubts

Vanellope started doing doughnuts in the starting area as her fellow racers came in behind her. Once all the vehicles had parked and turned off their engines, the crowd swarmed the track.

"You did it!" Ralph said when he saw his friend.

"I did it!" She repeated like she couldn't believe it.

He hoisted her up onto his shoulders as Sour Bill, Jay, Felix and Calhoun made their way to the duo, who were encircled by hundreds of spectators.

Jay handed his new friend the trophy.

It was a golden sculpture of a banana split with the Sugar Rush logo on all sides of the bowl. Under the logo on the front of the bowl was a plaque that read:

_**2012 Champion**_

_**Vanellope Von Schweetz**_

She lifted the trophy into the air for all to see, the crowd promptly cheered. She looked down to see Taffyta giving her a thumbs up.

"Nice move back there!" She shouted.

"Why thank you!"

"It won't work next year though!"

Vanellope laughed.

"Wanna bet?"

Ralph helped when he felt someone kick him in the shin. He looked down to see Rancis scowling up at him.

"You dropped a Gumball on me!"

Ralph gave him a apologetic smile before turning his gaze to Jay, who was pushing his way through the crowd. He could hear him shouting someone's name.

"Felix!" Ralph shouted, trying to get his friends attention.

"Yeah?" The handy man replied.

"Go see where Jay's going, cause that's not where Game Central is!" Ralph instructed.

Felix went after his friend, when he caught up to him he put a hand in his shoulder.

"Where you are going Jay?"

The boy spun around, his eyes were wide and his face was pale. A blue small blue numbers floated up from his hair.

"You alright? It looks like you've seen a ghost." Felix asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I think I just did." He replied.

_**A.N- Well I hope you enjoyed this update! I apologize for any car or racing errors I made. My knowledge about both of those subjects is limited. I did some research as I wrote the chapter but I don't know if I applied it properly to be perfectly honest. Anyways, let's recap. Two doughnut officers are missing, The Code Master is in Sugar Rush, Ralph lied to Vanellope about the significance of her dreams and Jay is on edge. Things are getting dark...**_

_**So many questions. Do not fret my dear readers they will be answered soon enough. Until then, keep your guard up and be on the lookout for signs of The Code Master in your own arcade!**_

_**-Wolf Out!**_


End file.
